Junyla T. Silmon Mrs. Tobie Lambert English Composition I 01 March 2017 Behind Every Great Man is a Great Woman In the tragic story of Julius Caesar, there is an endless amount of love, loss, envy, and most importantly, betrayal. The tale of this old tragedy displays the bitter rivalry between King Caesar and his best man-at-hand, Brutus, in which Brutus strategizes to kill the King in order to gain colonial support. In the play, both men receive multiple chances of a second life when danger is pressed upon them; however, they allow their egos to hinder their judgment, despite both the physical and supernatural warnings presented before them. In Act II of Julius Caesar, the audience is introduced to Portia, the wife of Brutus, and Calpurnia, …show more content…
For example, Calpurnia has frightening ammunitions about the potential death of her husband Caesar, and tries to convince him to stay home so that Caesar may avoid any trouble at the Capitol. As she pleads for her love to stay home, Caesar is very hesitant, but finally gives in once he realizes that he must make his wife happy. The same love is depicted in Portia’s actions when she pleads for Brutus to tell her the truth about his conspiracy against Caesar. Portia becomes aware of the recent secrecy and suspect behavior of Brutus; thus, she demands to know the intention behind his schemes. Although Portia becomes very angry and irritable by Brutus’ initial responses, one can tell that her frustration comes from a place of hard-headed …show more content…
Although both women were successful in some way or another, Portia’s mannerisms were more effective because she could convince Brutus to tell her about the conspiracy; Calpurnia was only able to persuade Caesar for a split second, until interrupted by an outside influence. Calpurnia’s nature is rather sensitive, therefore, in her approach to Caesar, she acquired a more soft-spoken tactic as she used her feminine assets and flirtatiousness to seduce Caesar into staying. Lines 54-56 imply that there may have been a kissed exchanged between the two, which could have seduced into Caesar obeying his wife’s desires. Calpurnia says, “Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this,” then, suddenly there is a mood change within Caesar, and now he wants to stay home. On the other hand, Portia is extremely dominant and persistent in her confrontation with Brutus. Despite starting the conversation calmly, her frustration levels elevated as it continued, and the audience begins to see the real Portia unfold. Portia becomes very impatient and abrasive with Brutus and begins to question his loyalty and respect towards her as his wife. She even goes as far as stabbing herself in the thigh to prove that she is robust enough to handle to truth and gain his trust. Portia declares, “I should not need, if you were gentle Brutus. Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus, is it